[ad_1]
Hong Kong (CNN) –– Nearly one million people have received an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm, as part of a Beijing-authorized emergency use program, the company president said.
So far, no serious adverse effects have been reported in Chinese vaccine recipients. Sinopharm indicated this on Wednesday in an article published on the WeChat platform, citing President Liu Jingzhen.
“In case of emergency use, we have now applied it to nearly a million people. We have not received any reports of serious adverse reactions and only a few have experienced some mild symptoms, ”Liu said.
Liu noted that the vaccine was given to Chinese construction workers, diplomats and students who traveled to more than 150 countries around the world during the pandemic. None of them reported an infection, he added.
There are two candidate vaccines for Sinopharm
On November 6, Liu indicated that there were 56,000 people who received emergency covid-19 vaccines and then went abroad.
“For example, a transnational company has 99 employees at one of its overseas offices, including 81 vaccinated. And then an epidemic broke out in the office. 10 of the 18 people who were not vaccinated were infected and none of the vaccinated were infected, “he said.
He also mentioned that Sinopharm had separately conducted phase 3 clinical trials for the Chinese vaccine involving nearly 60,000 people in 10 countries. These include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Peru and Argentina. CNN has not yet seen the results of these tests.
Sinopharm has two candidate vaccines. It is unclear which vaccine Liu was referring to COVID-19.
China gives companies permission for urgent use of vaccines that have been using experimental drugs for months. In June, the Chinese company CanSino Biologics announced that it had obtained special permission to administer its experimental vaccine to the People’s Liberation Army.
Experimental vaccines in China
Since July, Chinese drug manufacturers have been administering experimental vaccines to people working in “high-risk” professions. This, as part of the emergency use program, which allows candidate vaccines to be used on a limited scale before their safety and efficacy have been fully demonstrated in clinical trials.
Experimental COVID-19 vaccines have reportedly even been offered to the public in parts of China. Which prompted some citizens to rush across the country for a solution.
Sinopharm’s comments come after Pfizer announced the first results of its Phase 3 studies for a coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday. According to Pfizer, the vaccine is 95% effective in preventing infections, even in the elderly. It also didn’t cause serious safety concerns, according to the drug’s manufacturer. The day before, Moderna announced that its covid-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective.
Pfizer on Friday applied for emergency use clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its vaccine.
Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s foremost expert on infectious diseases, said Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have demonstrated extraordinary efficacy.
“It’s extraordinary,” Fauci said. “This is almost on par with what we see with measles (vaccine), which is 98% effective.”
CNN’s Beijing office contributed to this article.
Source link
